Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. The county council acts as the upper tier of local government to approximately 1.4 million people.[5] It is one of 21 county councils in England.
Since 1997, the council has been controlled by the Conservatives.[7]
History
Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over many administrative functions that had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the Quarter Sessions. The boroughs of Portsmouth and Southampton were both considered large enough to provide their own county-level services, so they became county boroughs, independent from the county council. The county council was elected by and provided services to the remainder of the county outside those two boroughs, which area was termed the administrative county.[8]
The Isle of Wight was covered by Hampshire County Council when it was created in 1889, but soon after it was decided that the island should have its own county council, and so it was made a separate administrative county with effect from 1 April 1890.[10]Bournemouth was made a county borough in 1900, removing it from the administrative county of Hampshire.[11]
The council's legal name until 1959 was the "County Council of the County of Southampton", although the name "Hampshire County Council" was used informally from the council's creation in 1889.[9] The name was officially changed to Hampshire County Council with effect from 1 April 1959.[12]
Local government was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, which made Hampshire a non-metropolitan county. As part of the 1974 reforms it ceded an area in the south-west of the county including Christchurch to Dorset, but the county council gained authority over Portsmouth and Southampton. The lower tier of local government was rearranged at the same time, with the county being divided into thirteen non-metropolitan districts.[13]
In 1997 Portsmouth and Southampton regained their independence from the county council when they were made unitary authorities following a review by Local Government Commission for England.[15] They remain part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire for the purposes of lieutenancy.[16] In 2015 the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Government Association unanimously agreed to support a 'pan-Hampshire' combined authority, but the bid was eventually unsuccessful.[17]
In November 2022, the county council warned it may face bankruptcy within 12 months due to austerity cuts, alongside similar warnings from Kent County Council.[18]
Governance
Hampshire County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the area's eleven district councils.[19]
The county council has authority over the pink area, formally called the non-metropolitan county. The wider ceremonial county of Hampshire additionally includes the two unitary authorities of Southampton (8) and Portsmouth (12) shown in yellow.
The ceremonial county is divided into thirteen districts, with the county council having responsibility for the eleven districts excluding the two unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton, which area is formally called the non-metropolitan county.[20]
Two of the independent councillors and the Whitehill and Bordon Community Party councillor sit together as the "Independent Group".[30] The other independent councillor does not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2025.
Premises
The council's main offices and meeting place are at Winchester Castle, parts of which date back to 1067. The council's part of the castle complex is known as Castle Hill and comprises more recent buildings added to the historic castle site, notably in 1895, 1912 and 1933.[31][32] The council also has area offices in Basingstoke, Farnborough, Havant and Totton.[33]
Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the council has comprised 78 councillors, representing 76 electoral divisions, with two divisions electing two councillors and the rest electing one each. Elections are held every four years.[34]
^"Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "Hampshire" in search box to see specific results.)
^Problems and Progress in Old People's Welfare: Report of the Third National Conference on the Care of Old People, 26th & 27th November, 1948 (National Old People's Welfare Committee, 1949), p. 2
